Type of social norm

1. Type of social norm

2. Types of social norms Descriptive What would most do in a situation? Injunctive What ought to be done in a situation?

3. Cialdini�s dropped litter study Participants watch someone drop or pick up litter Dropping motivates a descriptive norm If messy already, watchers dropped more trash If clean, watchers did not drop Picking up motivates an injunctive norm Didn�t matter what the area was like, messy or clean No one dropped when someone was picking up

4. Social influences  Normative � to be liked Informational � to be right Which do you see at play in Asch? Which do you see at play in Zimbardo?

5. Why sometimes we don�t conform Individuation Desire to maintain uniqueness Sense of self is stronger than need for others� approval Control Dislike of loss of personal freedom Sensitivity to others manipulating you

6. Minority Influence Disagreements are expected in real life, but not on �facts� What does dissent mean? Fear of judgment Fear of not being liked Breaking the norms

7. Asch Addenda on minority influence If another dissenter, conformity drops from 74% of the people to 6% of the people Even if the other dissenter gives another wrong answer instead of your right answer Even if the dissenter is clearly vision impaired Even if the dissenter is African-American with a racist White participant

8. Moscovici�s view on minority influence Minority can sway majority if Consistent Logical In the direction of movement of social norms Maase and Clark Study Arguing over gay rights Participants read a purported discussion between 5 undergraduates, four on one side and one on the other Participants voiced agreement with the majority Written ratings showed a shift toward the minority

9. Theories that help explain conformity You can use social norms as a theoretical explanation, but use high end lingo Social Comparison Theory (Festinger) When in ambiguous situation, look for others like me and match their behavior Social Impact Theory (Latan�) When number of targets increases, conformity decreases When number, closeness or importance of sources increases, conformity increases

10. Other cool studies Milgram�s study of social contagion Looking up at New York apartment building One confederate, 45% looked 15 confererates, 85% looked

11. Other cool studies Latane�s study of stage fright Supports his social impact theory Adding one person to one person on stage reduced anxiety by 75% Adding one person to 9 on stage barely changed level of anxiety

12. Obedience Milgram shock study RQ � why does destructive obedience happen in the real world Authority relieves individual from personal responsibility Symbols of status give indication of authority Foot-in-the-door Fast pace of change in the real world

13. Milgram findings Teacher and student, with confederate being student T watches S being strapped in Calibrated machine with notations 300 volt reaction was most severe 65% went all the way None stopped before 300 volts Is there an evolutionary explanation?

14. Milgram considerations Social norms Implicit contract Once you start, how do you justify stopping? Surveillance When experimenter is out of room, obedience drops to 21% of people going all the way Some faked shocks, quick shocks, same level shocks Buffers Distance between T and S In same room, 40%, hold L to plate � 30%, signal to exp wrong answers, 93% Ideological justification Name of science Why Nazis? Why My Lai?

15. Ethics of Milgram Deception Extreme stress Less trusting of others, of science Burger redoes this study with deception, but with lower stress Surveys afterwards indicate no one had long term effects

16. Milgram continued Role of gender Early studies may have been more about the tasks at hand, (both conformity and obedience) and thus male tasks may bring more conformity and obedience out in women Role of women in society changed, recent studies discount differences in reactions Low status people may conform or obey more, and women used to be seen in that way

17. Other cool studies Gamson�s Manufacturers� Human Relations Consultants (MHRC) study of antisocial orders delivered to a group Purported study of community standards Videotaped for a large oil company Company was being sued by former gas station owner Had been fired for living with a woman to whom he was not married �must live beyond reproach� Had been fired after tv appearance decrying high gas prices

18. MHRC slippery slope begins A few minutes into the discussion 3 people asked to argue as if offended by the man�s actions A few minutes later, asked 3 more to act offended By the end of this time, all had spoken on camera, acted offended, and verbally said they would not do business with the man

19. MHRC Sliding down Sign the affidavit that allows the videotape to be used as evidence in court Statements would be edited by the company �as they see fit�

20. Role of confederates Originally planned to have IV of how aggressively the confederate would argue against the company. Found out this was not necessary

21. REBELLION!!!! As it hit the group what was going on (or so they thought), rebellion against the company began Mockery in voices of some (Southern accent � ring a bell?) Threats to confiscate videotapes Expose company to local news Study stopped out of heightened stress Milgram only studied one person at a time, but when 2 experimenters disagreed, conformity went way down